Home and Office Question

X-NewModerator · 09-19-2004

Hello everyone, another newbie here, with of course a couple of stupid newbie questions.
1) Can I add an antenna to this router to improve signal? If so, what would be the most effective and easiest?
DLink Air Extreme router, model # dl624 I have it set up in the game room which is attached to the house but only entry in from outside the house, It works great in the game room, but I loose signal when I take the laptop inside.
Lapto is a Compaq Presario 2140, 512 ram, 30gig hd, etc. with a linksys card.

2) I also have a belkin USB card that for some reason canot see the above router, or connect to the inernet?

Last but not least.
3) Our ofice has bnc cable and its a pain. Thoughts on trying to go wireless? The good, bad and ugly? Its an older building, we have 2500 sq feet and lots of walls to go thru on one side. The other side is fairly open. We have a dual T1, proxy server setup running a firewall.
If I read things right, i "think" I could connect the bnc where it first enters my side of the office to a router and be wireless on "my side" but what about speed, adn of course i assume I then become the open door to all that pass by?

Thinks guys, if these have been answered elsewhere, I'll search, just help me narrow down the keywords.

Thanks Again
David

Thorn · 09-19-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-NewModerator

Hello everyone, another newbie here, with of course a couple of stupid newbie questions.
1) Can I add an antenna to this router to improve signal? If so, what would be the most effective and easiest?
DLink Air Extreme router, model # dl624 I have it set up in the game room which is attached to the house but only entry in from outside the house, It works great in the game room, but I loose signal when I take the laptop inside.
Lapto is a Compaq Presario 2140, 512 ram, 30gig hd, etc. with a linksys card.

Antennae replacements can be had for many models of APs and AP/routers, but you have to have some idea of what you are doing with them. Before you buy a new antenna which may not suit your needs, try a refelctor. Mike Erksine at http://osiris.urbanna.net has several cheap and easy-to-build designs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-NewModerator

2) I also have a belkin USB card that for some reason canot see the above router, or connect to the inernet?

That could be any number of problems. Is the card seeing the RF signal? Is the SSID set correctly? Is the encyption off in one device and on in the other? Is the encyption set to different levels? If the card sees the RF signal, and the SSID and encryption are OK, but you aren't getting a IP address it's a Networking 101 issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-NewModerator

3) Our ofice has bnc cable and its a pain. Thoughts on trying to go wireless? The good, bad and ugly? Its an older building, we have 2500 sq feet and lots of walls to go thru on one side. The other side is fairly open. We have a dual T1, proxy server setup running a firewall.

By "BNC cable" do you mean 10Base2 coax? If you have a business that supports a dual T1 and proxy, you'd be better off upgading that to Cat6 for gigabit Ethernet before going wireless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-NewModerator

If I read things right, i "think" I could connect the bnc where it first enters my side of the office to a router and be wireless on "my side" but what about speed, adn of course i assume I then become the open door to all that pass by?

Bad idea. Wireless should NEVER be on the same network as the main network. Doing so potentially opens eveything to the outside. Passer-bys, thieves, your competition, etc. Wireless should always be a secondary network, seperated from the main network by its own firewall and router.

X-NewModerator · 09-19-2004

[quote=Thorn]

By "BNC cable" do you mean 10Base2 coax? If you have a business that supports a dual T1 and proxy, you'd be better off upgading that to Cat6 for gigabit Ethernet before going wireless.

QUOTE]
Thanks Thor

Yes, 10Base2 coax, and "lots" of connectors that are giving us fits. WE are only going to be in this location a 5 months, and hate to sepend the $$ to pull the Cat6, thats why the thought of wireless.

goldfndr · 09-19-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-NewModerator

Yes, 10Base2 coax, and "lots" of connectors that are giving us fits. WE are only going to be in this location a 5 months, and hate to sepend the $$ to pull the Cat6, thats why the thought of wireless.

Have you spoken with the landlord/owner/overseer? You might get a subsidy. But perhaps not enough to make 5 months worthwhile.

09-19-2004	#1 (permalink)
X-NewModerator Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 65	Home and Office Question Hello everyone, another newbie here, with of course a couple of stupid newbie questions. 1) Can I add an antenna to this router to improve signal? If so, what would be the most effective and easiest? DLink Air Extreme router, model # dl624 I have it set up in the game room which is attached to the house but only entry in from outside the house, It works great in the game room, but I loose signal when I take the laptop inside. Lapto is a Compaq Presario 2140, 512 ram, 30gig hd, etc. with a linksys card. 2) I also have a belkin USB card that for some reason canot see the above router, or connect to the inernet? Last but not least. 3) Our ofice has bnc cable and its a pain. Thoughts on trying to go wireless? The good, bad and ugly? Its an older building, we have 2500 sq feet and lots of walls to go thru on one side. The other side is fairly open. We have a dual T1, proxy server setup running a firewall. If I read things right, i "think" I could connect the bnc where it first enters my side of the office to a router and be wireless on "my side" but what about speed, adn of course i assume I then become the open door to all that pass by? Thinks guys, if these have been answered elsewhere, I'll search, just help me narrow down the keywords. Thanks Again David

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09-19-2004	#3 (permalink)
X-NewModerator Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 65	[quote=Thorn] By "BNC cable" do you mean 10Base2 coax? If you have a business that supports a dual T1 and proxy, you'd be better off upgading that to Cat6 for gigabit Ethernet before going wireless. QUOTE] Thanks Thor Yes, 10Base2 coax, and "lots" of connectors that are giving us fits. WE are only going to be in this location a 5 months, and hate to sepend the $$ to pull the Cat6, thats why the thought of wireless.